


There Will Be Peace

by GestaltistCake



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Plot, they kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 01:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5478596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GestaltistCake/pseuds/GestaltistCake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuai Liang and Hanzo Hasashi learn to trust each other, despite some deception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There Will Be Peace

Despite the fact that Earthrealm was safe, Kuai Liang still detected a nervous energy among the Lin Kuei. Perhaps they feared the emergence of a revived Shirai Ryu under Hanzo Hasashi’s leadership. Kuai was almost certain that Frost had been talking to the rest of his clan about the danger of letting Hanzo walk away freely. He had tried to assure her that there was a possibility of peace, that Hanzo would honor his word. But she had said that his judgement was “clouded” and walked away.

Something had to be done; Kuai didn’t want his clan to jump to conclusions or make rash decisions on his behalf. He decided to call the highest ranks of the Lin Kuei to a meeting.

Once all attendants had been seated around a large stone table, Grandmaster Sub-Zero took his place at the head of the table in a chair decorated by carvings. “Hear me, fellow Lin Kuei,” he spoke, “I want to bring to attention the matter of the Shirai Ryu.” Kuai Liang quickly scanned the faces of the warriors. None of them seemed surprised; they were listening intently, awaiting the directions of their Grandmaster. Even Frost’s expression was passive, so Kuai decided to let her speak her mind first. If this were an open discussion, he could acknowledge and hopefully quell any feelings of resentment. “Frost, why don’t you tell us what has been on your mind?” asked Sub-Zero. It was an order, not a question.

She cleared her throat reluctantly. “I believe the Shirai Ryu pose a great threat to our clan. Hanzo Hasashi may have allied with the Grandmaster to slay Quan Chi, but that task is now complete. I do not trust him to uphold this _alliance,_ and we may very well be the next targets of his rage.” To both the surprise of Frost and Kuai, the other Lin Kuei seemed skeptical. Frost continued, although she sounded somewhat disheartened, “We must destroy the Shirai Ryu before they grow in number. We must assure our own safety.” She looked to Sub-Zero, wondering how he would proceed.

Sensing that he had support from the majority, Kuai declared, “Let’s put this to a vote. Whoever believes we should attack the Shirai Ryu, raise your hand.” Only Frost and a couple others were in agreement. Kuai smiled, “Then it is settled. Our priority is the maintenance of our borders with the Tengu and the Snow Ninja. You are dismissed.”

Several days passed without event, and Kuai assumed most of the tension had been resolved. It was unlikely that Frost was planning anything drastic with only a few associates. A recent retreat of Arctika’s glaciers called his attention to the South, so he journeyed there with a few other Lin Kuei to assess the conditions. 

The ice melted faster and faster each year, but refroze at the same rate. When they arrived at the edge of ice, the Lin Kuei looked upon a sea of floating ice fragments. “You go on along the border,” ordered Sub-Zero. “I will remain here and try to reconstruct as much of the ice shelf as possible. If this climate change continues, we may not have a home for much longer.” 

The others continued surveying the Lin Kuei territory, and Kuai Liang used his freezing abilities to reform a solid sheet of ice. He was about to head back to the Lin Kuei Temple when he noticed a figure on the horizon. It was moving slowly and had wrapped itself in thick furs to keep the bitter cold at bay. Kuai was curious as to who would undertake a journey to Arctika alone, so he began walking toward the figure. “Hello?” he called when they were within earshot.

“Kuai Liang,” the figure addressed him, removing a hood to reveal Hanzo Hasashi. “I must speak with you.” 

“Are you alright? I know the cold doesn’t suit you, and it seems you’ve travelled a very long way. You’re welcome to rest at the Lin Kuei Temple—”

Hanzo interrupted him, “No. I have come to inform you that members of my clan have been mysteriously _disappearing._ Many of us suspected the Lin Kuei to be the culprits, but I decided to confront you rather than renew the feud between our clans. What do you say in your defense?” Hanzo’s tone was steady, but Kuai saw him shivering under his coat and knew that he was wearied by his journey. 

“You have my word that the Lin Kuei are not responsible.” Hanzo determined that Kuai’s claim was sincere. After all that happened, he felt he could trust Kuai not to lie to his face. Sub-Zero stated firmly, “Now I must insist that you rest. I can bring you to my house on the Lin Kuei compound. Night is approaching, and by the time we return, it will be dark enough for you to go unnoticed. We can continue this discussion later.”

“Fine,” replied Hanzo shortly, walking alongside Kuai. He prayed he wasn’t enough of a fool to walk straight into an ambush. 

As Kuai predicted, no one else witnessed their reentry into the Lin Kuei base. Hanzo rested inside while Kuai went to report his findings, making up some excuse for why he hadn’t returned with the rest of the party. When Kuai returned to his house, he found Hanzo sitting at the table, arms folded. “Do you have any information about the cause of the Shirai Ryu’s troubles?” Hanzo demanded. He wished to rejoin his clan, and this was the only thing keeping him in Arctika. 

Kuai sat across from him. “The Lin Kuei did seem suspicious of your intentions to strengthen your clan, but I have discussed our priorities with them, and aggression against the Shirai Ryu was not as popular of an objective as you think.”

“But… ?” Hanzo questioned. Kuai would not have invited him here if there were nothing more to disclose. 

“Frost. She seems to harbor some misgivings about you, and there are a few others who share her attitude. However, they are not many in number, and any actions against the Shirai Ryu would be direct disobediance of my orders. I think it’s unlikely that they are behind the disappearances, but I wanted to be completely honest with you.”

“Thank you, I suppose,” said Hanzo, standing up to leave. “I’ll be on my way then.” Before Kuai could ask if that was all Hanzo had to say, the latter was out the door. 

Hanzo’s true intentions were to confront Frost. He had no intention of killing her at all, but he doubted she would lie to him with a blade pressed against her throat. He hurried toward the Temple; he had to reach Frost before Kuai could tell her anything, or else she may have hidden from him. He didn’t make it very far. 

A swarm of Lin Kuei materialized around him in a circle, preventing his progress in any direction. They had noticed his arrival. All of them had their weapons drawn, but they made no move to attack him. They were waiting for something.

Frost made her way into the center of the circle with Hanzo. “You were foolish to come here, wraith. Now you will be eliminated once and for all!” 

Hanzo was aware of the possibility of an ambush, but he still felt betrayed. He thought Kuai Liang actually somewhat liked him, but apparently he was wrong. Apparently he had only travelled through the freezing climate of Arctika to die at the hands of one whom he would have considered a friend.

Kuai Liang, who had heard the commotion outside, shoved his way through the crowd and stood beside Hanzo to face Frost. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded angrily. Hanzo determined from this that Kuai had no inkling of Frost’s plans. Kuai hadn’t lied to him after all. He could not name the emotion that he felt next.

Frost answered Sub-Zero, “Oh poor Grandmaster. So naive. Did you honestly think the rest of your clan was on your side? I have betrayed you. We have all betrayed you.”

“So I suppose everything before this was a ruse. The meeting, the vote, all the make me believe there was nothing happening behind my back?” asked Kuai, seeing his mistake now.

“And it worked.” She then turned to Hanzo, “I have been keeping tabs on the Shirai Ryu, so naturally, I noticed that some of your members were being picked off.”

The fact that Frost had turned his own clan against Kuai only served to heighten Hanzo’s dislike of her. “Then you are responsible!” he yelled at her, gripping the hilt of his sword in preparation for kombat. 

“Actually, no. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time or resources for that,” she said in a mockingly disappointed tone. “But I was sure you’d blame the Lin Kuei. We’ve been awaiting your arrival.” She motioned to her crowd of followers.

“This is mutany!” cried Kuai in disbelief. “I challenge you in kombat. If I defeat you, you will abandon this outrageous course of action!”

“And if I win?” asked Frost expectantly.

“If you win, I will forfeit the Dragon Medallion and my position as Grandmaster.” Sub-Zero stepped forward.

“No Kuai.” Hanzo placed a hand on Sub-Zero’s shoulder and stepped between him and Frost. “This is my fight.” He addressed Frost, “Your quarrel is with me and my clan. If I defeat you in kombat, you will honor our alliance.”

“And if I am victorious, I will have your head!” Frost screamed.

Sub-Zero stepped back to allow them space as the fight commenced. Hanzo drew his sword, gauging Frost’s speed and strength. She conjured a ball of ice and hurled it at Hanzo, freezing him in place. By the time Hanzo used his hellfire to melt the ice and free himself, Frost was approaching from his side. 

“Your fire is weak here, wraith!” she challenged. Hanzo turned quickly enough to deflect her daggers with his sword. She continued to taunt him, hoping that Scorpion would consume him. “Once I’ve killed you, the Lin Kuei will slaughter your clan once more, and you will be helpless to stop us!” She created walls of ice around Hanzo, but they were too thick to shatter with his sword. He was once again forced to use his hellfire to liquify them. He felt the rage of Scorpion burn within him, and Frost’s comments were no help in subduing his fury. 

As the battle progressed, fire consumed Hanzo until he became powerful enough to defeat Frost. Sub-Zero knew that Hanzo was in danger of losing himself, but he feared that any interference would nullify the conditions set forth by Hanzo and Frost. He looked on and could only imagine the pain felt by Scorpion.

With a blast of fiery energy, Scorpion sent Frost flying into the circle of Lin Kuei that surrounded them, who backed away and widened the circle. Frost lay on her back and attempted to move away, but she was too injured to continue in kombat. Scorpion had defeated her. 

He extended his sword, which was now engulfed in flames, and brought it to Frost’s throat, readying his final blow.

“Hanzo, wait!” 

Scorpion spun around, wondering who had just called his human name. Sub-Zero walked toward him slowly, not wanting to provoke him further. “You don’t have to kill her. You’ve won. You can release your anger another way.”

“Nothing can withstand the wrath of Scorpion!” he insisted.

“Attack me with your fire.” Kuai stood in a wide stance with arms open, the perfect target.

Scorpion hesitated. Even the wraith had some notion that Kuai Liang was not to be harmed. 

“It’s alright,” urged Sub-Zero. “My freezing abilities are capable of cancelling your fire. You can release your energy. You won’t hurt me.”

Scorpion complied, channeling his hellfire from his hands like a flamethrower. Sub-Zero was indeed unharmed, generating layers of ice around his body as a shield. Scorpion was uncertain at first, but upon seeing that Sub-Zero could survive the hellfire, he increased its intensity until he held nothing back. The Lin Kuei on-lookers were very uneasy now.

Sub-Zero began to weaken, sinking to his knees. One of the Lin Kuei stepped forth, ready to impale Scorpion with a longsword. Sub-Zero had to order her to stop. “Don’t harm him! I’m alright!”

Frost, who had recovered enough strength to stand once more, called to the crowd. “Yes, let this happen. If Scorpion destroys Kuai Liang, I will take his place. We will let the wraith walk free, but I doubt he would survive the journey home.”

With a final scream and burst of energy, Scorpion released the last of his fury, collapsing on the icy floor in exhaustion. Sub-Zero had survived. “He defeated you, Frost, or had you forgotten?” he countered, rising to his feet. “ _I_ command the Lin Kuei. Either submit or be exiled.”

“I…” she began uncertainly. “I apologize.” She lowered her head. 

“Then this ordeal is over,” stated Sub-Zero. Frost and other Lin Kuei retreated, leaving Kuai Liang and Hanzo Hasashi alone. Kuai gave his hand to Hanzo, helping him to his feet. Hanzo wiped blood from his face, telling Kuai, “It’s not that bad,” when he saw Kuai’s look of concern.

Suddenly, a messenger came running toward Sub-Zero. “Grandmaster! I bear news of the Shirai Ryu and the Red Dragon!” exclaimed the messenger excitedly. Hanzo gave Kuai a curious look. 

“Continue,” said Sub-Zero.

“The Red Dragon are responsible for the assassinations of several members of the Shirai Ryu. I saw some of the Red Dragon goons sneaking around the Shirai Ryu territory, plotting to reduce their numbers. I came back here as soon as possible to inform you.” The messenger, now seeing Hanzo standing beside Kuai, looked even more nervous. “I reached you in time, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you have done well,” Kuai commended. “Thank you for this news.” The messenger scurried away, relieved.

Both Hanzo and Kuai agreed that Hanzo should relay this information to his clan as soon as possible to avoid conflict. Kuai resolved that the Lin Kuei would aid the Shirai Ryu in the fight against the Red Dragon. He gave Hanzo supplies and a vehicle that could travel in the snow for his journey home. 

Before he left, Hanzo told Kuai, “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for saving my humanity. I hope the alliance between our clans will be long and prosperous. And… You are perhaps the only one that has seen the rage of Scorpion and not turned away…”

Kuai looked into Hanzo’s eyes; they seemed to be searching for some sign of acceptance, for a bit of hope that he was more human than spectre. Kuai took Hanzo’s face in his hands. What else could Hanzo want him to do but kiss him? What else could this mean?

Kuai leaned forward and pressed his lips against Hanzo’s, melting into a passionate kiss. 

“I have to go,” said Hanzo when they parted. Kuai watched his silhouette fade into the distance as Hanzo left. He hoped they would meet again.


End file.
